New Delhi: Tokyo 2020 Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and world champion Nikhat Zareen will spearhead India’s 20-member squad for the World Boxing Championships 2025, starting Thursday in Liverpool, according to Olympics.com.
This will be the inaugural edition of the tournament under World Boxing, the sport’s newly formed global governing body. The competition will take place at the M&S Bank Arena and run until September 14.
Over 550 boxers from more than 65 nations, including 17 Paris 2024 Olympic medallists, are set to compete across 20 weight divisions—10 each for men and women.
Borgohain will feature in the 75kg category, while Zareen will contest in the 51kg class. Olympian Pooja Rani will fight in the 80kg division. For Borgohain and Zareen, this will be their first international outing since the Paris Games.
Among the men, key names include Narender Berwal (90+kg), an Asian Games bronze medallist, and World Boxing Cup gold medallists Hitesh Gulia (70kg) and Abhinash Jamwal (65kg).
The championships will follow a knockout format, with both losing semi-finalists earning bronze. Each bout will comprise three three-minute rounds, judged on the “Ten Point Must” system.
The quarter-finals are slated for September 10, the semi-finals on September 12–13, and the finals on September 14, when 20 new world champions will be crowned.
India’s Squad for World Boxing Championships 2025
Women: Meenakshi Hooda (48kg), Nikhat Zareen (51kg), Sakshi (54kg), Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), Sanju Khatri (60kg), Neeraj Phogat (60kg), Sanamacha Chanu (70kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), Pooja Rani (80kg), Nupur Sheoran (80+kg)
Men: Jadumani Singh Mandengbam (50kg), Pawan Bartwal (55kg), Sachin Siwach Jr (60kg), Abhinash Jamwal (65kg), Hitesh Gulia (70kg), Sumit Kundu (75kg), Lakshya Chahar (80kg), Jugnoo Ahlawat (85kg), Harsh Chaudhary (90kg), Narender Berwal (90+kg).
